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PORTABLE WHEEL EXCAVATOR AND METHOD OF EXCAVATING Filed March 26, 1964 15 heets-Sheet 15 ark? 61/227 United States Patent Office 3,390,473 Patented July 2, 1968 3,390,473 PORTABLE WHEEL EXCAVATOR AND METHOD OF EXCAVATING Carl A. Wilms, La Habra, and Fouad K. Mittry, In, Los Angeles, Calif., assignors to Mechanical Excavators, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 177,422, Mar. 5, 1962. This application Mar. 26, 1964, Ser. No. 354,831

18 Claims. (Cl. 37-190) This application is a .continuation-in-art of copending application 177,422, filed Mar. 5, 1962, now abandoned.

This invention relates generally to wheel excavators and particularly to a self-propelled tire mounted wheel excavator and components especially adapted for use therewith.

Accordingly, a primary object of the invention is to provide a self-propelled wheel excavator which may be either rubber tire or crawler mounted, the basic design being capable of reproduction in a wide range of sizes, each size having an extremely high, and extremely efficient, digging capacity.

Another object is to provide a wheel excavator so weighted as to allow a full 180 degree swing of the wheel during digging.

Yet a further object is to provide a wheel excavator of extreme simplicity for its capacity as contrasted to existing machines, the wheel excavator using only one engine to power the several different and quite independent power consuming units of the excavator.

Another object is to provide a wheel excavator having a simplified propel drive arrangement, the propel drive system including an hydraulic motor which can be easily controlled by valves in the operators cab to either swing the wheel during digging, or propel the excavator.

Yet another object is to provide a wheel excavator in which the excavated material does not appreciably change directions as it is excavated, thereby permitting the use of high peripheral wheel speeds to attain a yard-age production which approaches conventional wheels of roughly twice the diameter.

Yet a further object is to provide a Wheel excavator in which the discharge of the buckets does not depend entirely upon rotation of the excavator wheel, thereby allowing full use of gravity in the discharge of the excavated material from the wheel buckets.

Another object is to provide a wheel excavator in which the buckets may discharge as they are still cutting so that actual output per revolution may be greater than the product of bucket discharges times bucket size.

A further object is to provide a wheel excavator in which the components, in operation, are not subjected to reciprocal motions and therefore fatigue and inertia forces such as exist in plugging the swing in conventional machines are substantially eliminated.

Yet a further object is to provide a wheel excavator in which the digging height of the wheel can be very accurately adjusted by means of an hydraulic motor driving a pair of screw jacks.

Another object is to provide a wheel excavator having a steering axle which is pivoted at its center for three point suspension during the propel cycle, but when digging or in the swing cycle may be locked up to provide stability over all four wheels.

Yet a further object is to provide a wheel excavator having a discharge conveyor which can be positioned independently of the wheel and ladder by an hydraulically driven gear box working against a stationary ring gear on the truck, the ring gear performing the dual function of serving as a reaction for the hydraulically driven swing gear drive and as a positioning device.

Another object is to provide a conveyor especially adapted for the rugged, high speed service conditions of a wheel excavator, the conveyor consisting, in part, of a unique tubular framework construction having an overhung skirt board design.

Another object is to provide a conveyor especially adapted for a wheel excavator having a wheel or conveyor ladder and a discharge conveyor, both of which are so arranged that they may be bodily removed from the machine by merely loosening a few bolts whereby belting can be quickly and efficiently removed and replaced as necessary.

A further object is to provide a conveyor roll especial-ly adapted for use in the dusty and abrasive environment of a Wheel excavator, the conveyor r-oll having several separate areas at the bearing and being capable of providing trouble-free performance for greater periods of time than rolls presently available on the market.

-Another object is to provide a light weight, easily manipulated convey-or drive pulley assembly especially adapted for use in a wheel excavator, the drive pulley assembly being inserta-ble and removable as a unit, and having the ruggedness of conventional assemblies of substantially greater weight.

A further object is to provide a discharge conveyor assembly for a wheel excavator having a unique spring set and air released brake on the positioning drive assembly which is automatically disengaged when the fluid motor which powers the discharge conveyor is operated, and which is engaged to hold the conveyor in position when the fluid motor stops.

Yet another object is to provide a unique mode of securely fastening a ring gear to a wheel rim in such a manner that the ring gear will be tightly clamped yet easily removable by use by use of a few simple tools.

Yet a further object is to provide an excavating bucket having a unique variable area non-planar maw, the bucket being especially adapted to use in a screw in type mode of digging.

A further object is to provide a bucket tooth adaptor especially adapted for use with the aforesaid non-planar bucket maw.

A further object is to provide a wheel excavator having a wheel conveyor and a discharge conveyor so disposed that their meeting ends overlie one another in all relative positions of one to the other, the area of overlap being disposed above a hollow center tube through which excavated material may fall if for some reason all the material should not be transferred from one conveyor to the other.

Yet a further object is to provide a wheel excavator having a wheel support which is offset with respect to the line of sight between the operators station and the digging area to thereby provide an unobstructed view of the digging area to the operator.

Yet a further object is to provide a Wheel excavator in which the ladder conveyor frame and the ladder are formed as a single unit, and the discharge conveyor frame and discharge conveyor support structure are formed as another unit.

Another object is to provide a wheel excavator having lightweight conveyor idler assemblies so that in assembly or disassembly of the conveyor the belt is placed in the frame, the individual pulley and idler assemblies placed inside the belt, and then the resultant combination quickly adjusted.

Yet a further object is to provide a wheel excavator having a discharge conveyor which is hinged intermediate its ends so that the over-all height of the wheel excavator may be drastically reduced for road travel or ground level maintenance, the hinged structure being very simple to operate and the conveyor being erectable or collapsa-ble in a very short time.

Yet a further object is to provide a conveyor having a skirt board which may be quickly and easily attached to and removed from the conveyor frame by means of a unique bullet-nosed type of connection.

Another object is to provide a wheel excavator having an engine mounted on an upper rotating base, the engine weight and a counterweight balancing the overhung wheel load, said excavator having only the single engine for all functions, suitable for conventional machines of equivalent capacity for which a plurality of inventions had heretofore been required.

Yet another object is to provide an excavator wheel in which carryover of material is substantially entirely eliminated even though the wheel is capable of relatively rapid rotation, for example on the order of 12 r.p.m. or higher, and actual production capacity of the wheel is far greater than conventional wheels of equal diameter.

A further object is to provide a method of excavating in which excavated material is transferred to material removal means with substantially no impact, whereby initial and maintenance costs and complexity of the system is materially reduced over present, high impact type excavating methods.

Another object is to provide a method of excavating in which material is admitted simultaneously to and discharged from a receptacle of relatively constant volume capacity whereby more material may be excavated by the receptacle than its nominal volume in one excavating pass.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a reading of the following description of the invention.

The invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a front view of a rubber tire mounted version of the wheel excavator;

FIGURES 2A and 2B, when taken together, are a side view of the excavator, the operating condition of the wheel excavator being shown in solid line and the travel and maintenance condition of the machine being shown in dotted lines;

FIGURE 2C is a section view taken substantially along the line 2C-2C of FIGURE 2A;

FIGURE 3A is a detail view, to an enlarged scale, of the hinge structure between the sections of the discharge conveyor.

FIGURE 38 is a detail view, to an enlarged scale, of a portion of the hinge structure of FIGURE 3A;

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view, with parts omitted, of the wheel end of the excavator;

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view, with parts omitted, of the discharge conveyor;

FIGURE 6 is a section through the discharge conveyor taken substantially along the line 66 of FIGURE 3A;

FIGURE 7 is a partial sectional view through the discharge conveyor taken substantially along the line 7-7 of FIGURE 3A;

FIGURE 8A is a partial, detail view of one of the conveyor rolls used in the wheel excavators.

FIGURE 8B is a detail view of a bearing assembly for a conveyor roll;

FIGURE 8C is a detail view of another hearing assembly usable in a conveyor roll;

FIGURE 9 is a partial top plan detail view of the truck frame portion of the excavator;

FIGURE 10 is a detail view, to the same scale of FIG- URE 9, taken substantially along the line 10-10 of FIGURE 9;

FIGURE 11 is a sectional view of the wheel swing and discharge conveyor positioning structure;

FIGURE 12 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 12-12 of FIGURE 11 illustrating the 1 spring set-air released brake associated with the discharge conveyor positioning system;

FIGURE 13 is a detail view taken substantially along the line 1313 of FIGURE 12;

FIGURE 14 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 1414 of FIGURE 4 through the wheel ladder structure;

FIGURE 15 is a detail, partial sectional view with parts omitted, parts broken away, and other parts shown in outline for purposes of clarity of the drive system for the cone-shaped bucket wheel;

FIGURE 16 is a detail view of the connecting rim structure for the cone wheel frame;

FIGURE 17 is a detail view taken substantially along the line 1717 of FIGURE 16 illustrating the novel mode of connection of the cone-shaped wheel frame to the wheel gearing support structures;

FIGURE 18 is a side view of one of the non-planar maw buckets especially adapted for use with the coneshaped digging wheel;

FIGURE 19 is a bottom view of the bucket of FIG- URE 18;

FIGURE 20 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 2t]-20 of FIGURE 18;

FIGURE 21 is a side view, partly schematic in nature, which illustrates details of the wheel structure; and

FIGURE 22 is a sectional view through a conveyor drive pulley assembly.

Like reference numerals will be used to refer to like or similar parts throughout the following description of the drawings.

General assembly The machine is indicated generally at 1t} in FIGURES 1, 2A and 2B. A cone-shaped excavator wheel is indicated generally at 11. A plurality of buckets 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 are equidistantly spaced about the wheel in the vicinity of its greatest periphery. The buckets discharge onto a ladder or wheel conveyor 18 which in turn dumps into a discharge conveyor 19'. The discharge conveyor consists of an inner or forward section 20 and an outer or rearward section 21, the sections being connected to one another for articulatable movement by a hinge structure indicated generally at 22. Material conveyed by the discharge conveyor empties into a discharge chute assembly indicated generally at 23, The forward end of the discharge conveyor is supported, at its outer end, by a gantry assembly indicated generally at 24.

The wheel and whee-l ladder assembly and the discharge conveyor are mounted on a rotating base indicated generally at 25. An internal combustion engine, indicated generally at 26, is mounted on the rotating base for supplying power to all of the operating parts of the excavator. A counterweight is indicated at 27, the function of the engine and counterweight being to counter-balance the wheel 11. A wheel drive system indicated generally at 28, which will be described in more detail hereafter, is mounted in suitable bearing structures carried by the rotating base 25, the engine 26 directly driving wheel 11.

The rotating base in turn is rotatably mounted with respect to the truck frame 30. Truck frame 30 is mounted on four sets of wheel assemblies 31, 32, 33 and 34. See also FIGURE 9. Each wheel assembly may consist of 1, 2 or more wheels, the number used depending to a large extent upon the capacity and intended use of the excavator. Furthermore, it is contemplated that the excavator may be crawler mounted, rather than tire mounted, as shown in FIGURES 1, 2A and 2B. The same basic design principles may be employed whether the excavator be tire or crawler mounted, although it will generally be more expeditions to employ the crawler mounting on the larger size excavator in order to take advantage of the greater area of weight distribution provided by the crawler treads.

An operators cab is indicated at 35. As best seen in FIGURE 1 the operators station or cab is offset from the ladder conveyor 18 but placed forwardly of the center vertical axis 36 in a position close to the digging wheel so that the operator is provided with an unobstructed view of the wheel at the digging area.

A V-type blade 37 is pivotally connected to the truck frame as at 38 and 39' to prevent rocks from getting under the wheels which disturbs the level of the machine.

Discharge conveyor Lower section of the discharge conveyor consists of a pair of side members 40 and 41 each of which is formed roughly as a hollow wall as shown best in FIG- URE 7.

One or a plurality of tubular cross braces 42 maintain the bottoms of the side members a fixed distance apart. The terminal ends of the individual tubular members comprising each cross brace member 42 are bullet-shaped and have a slot formed therein to receive the lower flange 43 of the box-like side members 40 and 41. This detail is best illustrated in FIGURE 7.

The lower ends of the side members 40 and 41 are welded at 44 to a circular plate member 45 Circular plate member 45 is itself cut away roughly along weld line 44 to provide access to the conveying and return reaches 46, 47, and to the tail pulley 48 which is mounted within the circular member 45. A plurality of impact idlers 49 are closely spaced to tail pulley 48 in the area of impact of material delivered from the head end of the ladder belt conveyor. The tail pulley 48 may be longitudinally moved along the conveyor by means of the take-up mechanism indicated generally at 59, the take-up mechanism being associated with an interior wall 51 which forms the inner surface of the rear end of side member 40.

The lower circumferential edge of circular plate 45 is welded to a ring 53 which in turn is welded to a circular bar 54, best shown in FIGURE 11. The mode for rotating the discharge conveyor with respect to the rotating base will be described in detail in connection with FIGURE 11. A dirt deflecting skirt is indcated at 55 and a hopper which is welded to the upper edge of the circular member 45 is indicated generally at 56.

One of the impact roller assemblies 49 is shown in FIGURE 2C. Although this figure is a view of one of the impact roller assemblies in the discharge conveyor, it may be representative as well of an impact roller assembly in the ladder conveyor. Actual experience has indicated that because of the lack of any substantial impact onto the ladder conveyor, conventional steel shell rollers may be used, thus materially reducing the cost and complexity of the roller assemblies at the loading end of the conveyor.

The sides of the conveyor consist of a pair of plate members 40 and 360 Whose upper ends are bent toward one another and secured together to form a rugged frame. The rolls 361 and 362 are supported by dead shafts 363 and 364, the ends of which are received in brackets 365 and 366. The brackets are welded or otherwise suitably secured to framing 367 which is welded at its ends to side wall 360. In this instance the end bracket 366 has been formed by a tab cut-out from wall 360. The lower half of framing 367 is apertured to receive a take-up screw 368 which extends from one end of the plurality of impact roller assemblies to the other, the screw being part of a take-up assembly which imparts tension to the conveyor belt.

It will be noted that in the wheel conveyor the impact roller assemblies are placed as close to the tail pulley as possible and the tail pulley in turn is located closely adjacent the bucket rim (see also FIGURE 4), and at a level such that material is discharged through the bottomless bucket onto the conveyor belt at a time when the bucket teeth are still biting into unexcavated material. This unique arrangement of wheel-bucket-conveyor makes the bucket a mere funnel for excavated material during a portion of the time it is in engagement with the unexcavated material so that the physical size and configuration of the bucket as a capacity limiting factor is reduced. This arrangement enables surprisingly high digging efliciencies to be achieved, the efliciencies already reached in actual use being almost of the theoretical capacity as contrasted to the industry established standard of 50% of theoretical capacity.

A plurality of conveyor idlers 58 are spaced at substantially regular intervals along the conveyor. The conveyor idler assemblies are illustrated best in FIGURE 7.

Referring to that figure, it will be noted that each conveyor idler assembly includes a pair of tubular bars 59 and 60, each of which is welded at its outer end to an L-shaped channel 61. The L-shaped channel in turn is bolted to the tops 62, 63 of side members 40 and 41 respectively and to the downturned flange portions 64 of the side members. Bolts 65 and 66 are shown best in FIGURE 7.

Pairs of spacer members extend between the tubular bars 59, 60 to provide support for the individual conveyor rolls. For example referring to FIGURE 7, the pair of cross links or brackets for wing or end roller 68 are indicated at 69 and 70. The brackets 69, 70 are cut to fit over the tubular bars 59, 60 and to be secured thereto by welding or other suitable securing means. The brackets are apertured at their mid-points to receive the roller shaft indicated at 72.

A plurality of bullet-shaped mounting stubs or anchor members 73 are welded at their inner ends to the L-shaped channel 61 from one end to the other. In this instance one anchor member is located approximately midway between each pair of tubular bars 59 and 60. An angled, tubular stanchion whose internal diameter is equal to or only slightly greater than the external of the mounting stub 73 is indicated at 74. The inner ends of the mounting stanchions may be slotted to facilitate their placement over the mounting stubs 73. Collars or other suitable securing means 75 securely, but removably, clamp the stanchions to the mounting stubs. A skirt board 76 is welded or otherwise suitably secured to the outer end of each stanchion 74, the lower edge of the stanchion being slightly outwardly bent as at 77 so as to be disposed substantially perpendicularly to that portion of the conveying reach 46 of the belt located immediately below it. The skirt board has secured thereto as by screw 78 a skirt 79 which acts as a barrier against spillage of excavated material over the edges of the belt.

It will thus be seen that skirt board 76 can be removed and attached as a unit to the balance of the assembly or, likewise, the conveyor framework which consists of the L-shaped channel 61 and the plurality of pairs of tubular frames 59, 60 can be removed and replaced bodily from the side members 40 and 41 with or without skirt boards'being secured thereto.

The return reach 47 of the conveyor belt is supported at the outer or upper end of lower conveyor section 20 by a return idler indicated generally at 80. The idler consists essentially of a tubular center piece '81 which extends from end to end of the assembly, each end of the piece 81 terminating in a stub shaft 82.

The vertical sides of the non-rotatable stub shaft may have flats milled thereon, the milled flats being slidably received in an aperture 83 cut in the end plate 84 of a mounting bracket 85, the outer end of which is bolted as at 86 to the lower flange 43 of side member 40.

The details of the return idler are shown best in FIG- URE 8A. The idler consists essentially of a roller support tube 88 to which a plurality of rubber rings or rollers '89, 90 and 91 are bonded. The rubber rings are bonded to a thin ring or collar 92 which slips over and is welded to the exterior surface of roller support tube 88. The outer end of roller support tube 88 is recessed as at 93 so that a shoulder 94 is formed a slight distance inwardly from the terminal end of the tube. A bearing structure, in this instance an annular double ball-bearing having an inner race 95 and an outer race 96, is received in the recess and butted against the shoulder 94. A grease seal is indicated at 97 interposed between the face of the shoulder and the edge of the outer race An internal shaft is indicated at 98, the outer end of which is reduced as at 99 to receive a sleeve bushing 100 which functions as a bearing shaft. Its inner end is reduced to a diameter such that it will be received within the internal diameter of the bearing. The outer bearing race 96 is maintained in position by a bearing retainer 101, the inwardly extending flange portion of which bears against a second grease seal 102 and the outer bearing race. A wiper seal is indicated at 103. The pressure of the wiper seal against the exterior diameter of bearing shaft 100 is adjusted by a tightening wire 104. Tie rod 105 extends through the internal shaft 98. The tie rod is threaded at each end and a tightening nut 106 presses the sleeve bushing 100 into position. A cup seal is indicated at 107.

One end of a typical roll assembly for a conveyor idler is shown in FIGURE 8B. A center shaft is indicated at 340. Its end is reduced at 341 to receive a ball bearing 342, and threaded at 343 to receive a locknut 344. The bearing is held by a retainer 345 which is Welded to end wall 346, the end wall in turn being welded to shell 347. A dirt cup is indicated at 348.

One end of a typical impact roll assembly 49 is shown in FIGURE 8C. The shaft 350 is reduced at 351 to receive a bearing 342 and threaded at 352 to receive locknut 344.

Flats 353 are milled on the sides of the shaft to hold the shaft stationary when inserted in slots 83 in the supporting bracket. The impact roller, which preferably is a plurality of rubber rings 354 spaced from but connected to one another by connecting portions 355, are bonded to the roller shell 356. The ends of the shell are recessed at 357 to receive the bearing 342. Grease seal ring 358 and cup 348 complete the assembly.

The head or discharge section 21 of conveyor 19 is similar in construction to the tail section 20. The head section includes a pair of side members 110, 111, which are rigidly spaced from one another by a cross-brace structure 112 similar to cross brace structure 42. A second brace structure is indicated at 113 close to the head or discharge end of the conveyor.

A plurality of conveyor assemblies are indicated at 114. These conveyor assemblies are similar in all important respects to the conveyor assemblies in the tail or lower section of the conveyor. As best seen in FIGURE 5, each conveyor assembly includes a pair of wing rollers flanking a center roller, the rollers being suspended by brackets between a pair of bent tubes which are welded to short flanges 115 which in turn are bolted to the top sides of the side members 110 and 111 in a manner substantially identical to the construction shown in FIGURE 7. In this instance the head ends of the skirt board structures flare outwardly as at 116, 117 and are practically co-extensive with the ends of the head or discharge pulley 118 at their furthest extremity. The flared portions of the skirt members are secured as by bracket members 119 to extensions 120 which in turn are securely fastened to the side members 110 and 111 by any suitable means.

A framework consisting of a pair of generally parallel downwardly and outwardly extending members 121 and 122 which are connected at their outer extremities by cross member 123 (see FIGURE 2B) support a pair of discharge chutes 124 and 125. The chutes may be rubberlined but since their particular mode of construction is not an essential part of the invention they are not further illustrated or described.

A deflector cylinder is indicated at 126. The inner end of the cylinder is pivotally mounted as at 127 to a framework 128 secured to members 122 and 121. The piston rod 129 of the cylinder is pivotally connected to a sectorshaped deflecting hood 130 which is movable from the dotted to the solid line position of FIGURE 2B. The chute is pivoted as at 131. When in the dotted line position the hood deflects material projected over the end of the conveying reach 46 of the conveyor belt into chute 124. When the deflecting hood 130 is in the solid line illustrated position, the material is deflected into the near chute 125.

Any suitable mechanism for causing extension and re traction of the piston rod may be employed. A very suitable mechanism is the radio control system illustrated and described in copending application Ser. No. 177,422, Which may be under the control of a truck operator. Alternately, the two-way discharge chute can be eliminated entirely and a single chute provided which empties into a conveyor system. The two-way chute provides great versatility, particularly in locations in which rapid advancements are made, but each discharge system has its own particular advantages and which system will be employed will depend largely on the operational requirements.

An electric motor 132 which is powered from any suitable source of current such as a generator turned by the engine 26 drives the discharge conveyor.

Gantry structure The lower or tail end 20 of the discharge conveyor is supported from rotating base 25 by the gantry structure illustrated best in FIGURES 2A, 2B, 3A and 6.

A pair of gantry members 140, 141 are pivotally connected at their lower ends to a pair of pivot points on the rotating base 25, one on each side thereof. The gantry members extend upwardly to a gantry pivot housing assembly 142. A pair of gantry support struts 143, 144 are pivotally connected at their lower ends to the rotating base assembly, one at each side thereof, and at their upper ends to pivot means carried by the gantry housing assembly. A pair of suspension cables 145, 146 are connected, at their forward ends, to the gantry pivot housing 142 by a suspension cable assembly 147 and, at their trailing ends to the plate ends of the lower section 20 of the discharge conveyor. Since the connection of the right end of each of the suspension cables to the lower section of the discharge conveyor is the same, only one will be described in detail.

Hinge assembly Referring now particularly to FIGURES 2B, 3A, 5 and 6, it will be noted that right side member 40 has welded thereto at its ends, and on either side thereof, a pair of heavy, triangularly shaped plates 148a and 1423b. The right end of suspension cable has a loop formed therein, and a pin 149 which is received in a pair of collars passes through the loop, one collar being carried by each side plate. Suitable cotter pins prevent unintended longitudinal movement of pin 149.

The right terminus of the plates has a pair of axially aligned holes formed therein for reception of a connecting pin 150 which will be described in detail hereinafter. The lowermost point of each of the side plates also has a pair of axially aligned holes formed therein for the reception of a pin which will be described hereinafter.

A second set of roughly triangularly shaped plates 151, 152 are welded to the tail or left end of right conveyor section 21. In this instance the triangular hinge plates 151, 152 have a projecting portion 153 which is received within the side member 110 as best seen in FIGURE 3A.

A pair of axially aligned holes are formed in hinge plates 151, 152 near their upper end. A pair of slideways 154, 155 are welded between hinge plates 1.51 and 152. The passage formed by the slideways and hinge plates is closed at each end by a pair of end plates 156, 157, each of which has a threaded central hole therein. A pair of threaded bolts are indicated at 158 and 159, the lead end of the bolts butting against a block 1663 received between the side plates 154 and 155. The hinge pin 150 passes through aligned apertures in the lower section hinge plates 148a, 1481), the upper section hinge plates 151, 152, and

9 the adjusting block 160. Hinge plates 151, 152 are slotted as at 161 for example so that the position of the block 160, and thereby the positions of the two sections 20 and 21 of the conveyor, may be changed. In the FIGURE 38 position the conveyor sections are extended to their maximum length.

The conveyor sections are maintained in their illustrated FIGURE 3A positions by a pair of struts 163, only one of which is shown in FIGURE 3A. Strut 163 consists essentially of a housing 164 which has an internally threaded bore, and a screw 165. The left end of the housing is pivotally connected by pin 166 to the lower ends of hinge plates 148a, 148k. The expanded head end of screw 165 is connected by a removable pivot pin 167 to the lower ends of hinge plates 151 and 152. When the struts are in the illustrated solid line FIGURE 3 position, the upper and lower sections 21 and 20 of the discharge conveyor are maintained aligned with one another.

Means for swinging the outer end 21 of the discharge conveyor about hinge pin 150 are shown best in FIGURE 3A. A pair of hydraulic cylinders, only one of which, 169, is shown, are pivotally connected by pin 170 to the two sides of the associated side member, in this instance 40. A pair of mounting plates are indicated at 171. The outermost end of piston rod 172 is connected by pin 173 to hinge plates 151 and 152. After pins 16-7 are pulled and struts 163 swung downwardly out of engagement with hinge plates 151 and 152, extension and retraction of piston rod 172 will swing the rear section 21 counterclockwise and clockwise respectively about hinge pin 150.

A cross pin extending between hinge plates 148a and 14811 is indicated at 176. A spacer plate 174 having a threaded bore is welded between the hinge plates 151, 152 and a bolt and nut is indicated at 175 screwed in the spacer plate 174. The spacer plate 174 is so positioned that when the two sections of the conveyor are swung about hinge pin 150, the head of the bolt will strike the cross pin 173. A small hand pump mounted between hinge plates 148a and 148b may be provided for actuating the hydraulic cylinder 169.

Discharge conveyor positioning system The structure for rotating and fixing the position of the discharge conveyor 19 with respect to the rotating base is shown best in FIGURES 2A, 11, 12, and 13.

Referring first to FIGURES 2A and 11, the circular skirt 45 at the lower end of the discharge conveyor is welded to an annular ring 53. The ring in turn is welded to bolt ring 54, best shown in FIGURE 11.

The bolt ring 54 is fastened by means of a number of bolts 182 to mounting ring 183 of the discharge conveyor positioning assembly. Mounting ring 183 and the balance of the discharge conveyor positioning assembly is rotatable with respect to the rotating base 25. The connection between the rotating base and the discharge conveyor positioning system will next be described.

An annular member 184 which forms in effect the center section of the rotating base is welded or otherwise suitably secured to the base 25. A center section flange ring is indicated at 185 welded to the upper edge of annular member 184. A hearing retainer ring 186 is bolted to the flange 185. The upper inner edge of the bearing retainer is cut away to receive the outer race 187 of an X-bearing. The outer race is held in position by a clamp bearing 188 which in turn is bolted to the bearing retainer. The mounting ring 183 is bolted to a composite L-shaped bearing clamp 189, the bearing clamp and mounting ring forming a seat for the inner race of the X-bearing. A split retainer seal plate is indicated at 190 and a pair of oil seal shafts are placed above and below the X-'bearing. Thus it will be seen that the discharge conveyor is rotatable about the X-bearing and thereby rotatable with respect to the rotating base structure 25.

A cover plate is indicated at 192 extending outwardly from the inner surface of mounting ring 54. Forward end 192 in turn is welded to inclined plate 193 which is welded at its lower end to dirt tube 194. A gear box mounting bracket 195 is welded or otherwise suitably secured to the dirt tube 194. A generally triangularly shaped stiffening bracket between the mounting bracket and the dirt tube is indicated at 196'.

A positioning drive assembly for the discharge conveyor is indicated generally at 198. The assembly includes a hydraulic motor 199, a spring set air-released brake 200, a gear box 201, and a pinion gear 202.

Referring now to FIGURES 12 and 13, the hydraulic motor, spring set air-released brake, and gear-box are there shown in more detail.

Hydraulic motor 199 is bolted as at 203 to adaptor 204 which in turn is bolted to the cover 205 of the brake adaptor 206. Brake adaptor 206 is bolted to a spacer 207 which is welded or otherwise suitably secured to the top or cover of gear box 201. Spacer 207 is actually four individual arcuate shaped spacers as appears best in FIGURE 12.

The output shaft 208 of the motor is connected by means of a spline to input pinion 209 of a gear box, the upper end of the input pinion having an internal spline formed therein which meets with the external spline on the output shaft 208. The lower end of input pinion 209 meshes with the top gear 210 in the gear box. The internal gearing beyond gear 210 is not shown since it is conventional. Suffice it to say that drive pinion 202 of FIGURE 11 is rotated in an appropriate direction, but at a lesser speed, upon actuation of the motor 199 and rotation of output shaft 208.

The springset-air released brake 200 includes a brake drum 215 which is welded to the output shaft 209 of the fluid motor 199. A brake band structure is indicated at 216. The brake band is connected by pin 217 to the rigid cover plate 205 of the brake housing. Friction material between the inner surface of the brake band structure and the outer surface of the drum is indicated at 218. The brake band structure 216 is formed as a split collar having a pair of ea-rs, 219, 220. The ears are apertured to receive a spring bolt 221 which carries a setting spring 222 located between the exterior surface of ear 220 and an abutment washer 223. The spring is biased to urge the ears 219, 220 together, with the resultant compression of the split ring 216 resulting in frictional engagement between the brake drum 215 and brake band 216.

An air release cylinder is indicated at 224. The air cylinder piston rod 225 engages in adjustable set screw 226. Air is admitted to and bled from the cylinder 224 by an air line 227. Extension of piston rod 225 opens the split collar 216 against the pressure of spring 222 which thereby releases the brake pressure between drum 215 and brake band 216, allowing swinging movement of the discharge conveyor with respect to the stationary ring gear next to be described.

A pivotally mounted swing drive ring gear is indicated at 230 in FIGURE 11. The gear is bolted to a three part mounting flange 231, each part of which is indicated by a separate line from the reference numeral. A ring clamp is indicated at 232, the ring clamp forming a carrier for the inner race of bearing 233. The rotating base center section is indicated at 234 and a bearing clamp at 235, bolted to the center section. Suitable seals prevent escape of lubricant from between a center section 234 and ring clamp 232, and between the bearing clamp 235 and ring clam-p 232.

Ladder and wheel The rotating wheel and the ladder assembly which supports it are shown best in FIGURES 2A, 4, l4 and 21.

The ladder frame consists of a pair of lower side members 370 and 371 which are maintained a spaced distance apart by cross braces 372, 373 and 374, it being understood that more or less may be used depending on the size of the machine. Side extensions 375, 376 have 

11. AN EXCAVATOR WHEEL ASSEMBLY, SAID ASSEMBLY INCLUDING, IN COMBINATION A BUCKET MOUNTING BASE, A PLURALITY OF BUCKETS MOUNTED ON THE BASE, SAID BUCKET BASE BEING CUT AWAY IN THE AREA UNDERLYING EACH BUCKET TO THEREBY FORM AN OPEN BOTTOM BUCKET, AND A SUPPORT BASE MEANS, SAID SUPPORT BASE MEANS BEING DISPOSED WITHIN THE BUCKET MOUNTING BASE TO THEREBY PROVIDE A BOTTOM FOR THE BUCKET, SAID SUPPORT BASE MEANS BEING RADIALLY CO-EXTENSIVE WITH THE BUCKET MOUNTING BASE THROUGHOUT AT LEAST THAT PORTION OF THE PATH OF TRAVEL OF EACH BUCKET DURING WHICH PREMATURE DISCHARGE FROM THE BUCKET CAN OCCUR, AND BEING OPEN IN A RADIALLY INWARD DIRECTION IN A DISCHARGE AREA COMMENCING SUBSTANTIALLY AT THE LEVEL OF A BELT CONVEYOR DISPOSED WITHIN THE BUCKET MOUNTING BASE, SAID BELT CONVEYOR HAVING ONE END PORTION DISPOSED WITHIN THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF THE BUCKET WHEREBY SAID BUCKETS PASS OVER THE BELT CONVEYOR IN DISCHARGE RELATIONSHIP WITH RESPECT THERETO DURING THEIR MOVEMENT, SAID BELT CONVEYOR BEING DISPOSED AT AN ACUTE ANGLE WITH RESPECT TO THE PLANE OF ROTATION OF THE WHEEL TO THEREBY FORM A TRANSFER AREA HAVING A MAXIMUM LENGTH DIMENSION LONGER THAN THE WIDTH OF THE BELT, SAID CONVEYOR INCLUDING AN END PULLEY MOUNTED WITHIN THE WHEEL AND POSITIONED CLOSELY ADJACENT THE OPEN AREA IN SAID SUPPORT BASE MEANS WHEREBY MATERIAL IN THE BUCKETS MAY PASS DIRECTLY ONTO THE BELT CONVEYOR WITH SUBSTANTIALLY NO IMPACT. 